In case you don’t know, Soul Force is an organization devoted to changing the hearts and minds of religious leaders who engage in anti-homosexual campaigns.

One of Soul Force’s programs is the Equality Ride. The Equality Ride is an annual civil rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults who travel together to schools with policies that discriminate against the LGBTQ community. On these campuses LGBTQA students and faculty are forced to suffer in silence. If they come out they are subject to expulsion and can even be forced into harmful “ex-gay” or “reparative” therapy programs.

The Equality Ride was conceived of in 2005 and hit the road for the first national trip in 2006. Since then, the buses have carried over 100 Riders to over 50 schools. The message of Equality Ride is clear: discrimination against LGBTQ may be legal, but it is unjust.

In 2005 my son was a Freshman at a Christian college in Texas. The Equality Ride came to his campus and played an important part in helping him to come out and live an authentic life as a gay man. They held symposiums on campus (fortunately the campus allowed it) and helped my son discover that scripture did not condemn him or healthy same sex relationships. They were the beginning of my son thinking about himself in a healthy and loving way, which eventually gave him the courage and confidence to come out and live authentically. And that was the beginning of me re-examining what I believed about same sex relationships.

Organizations like Soul Force aren’t just changing campuses, they are also changing families and individuals.

I am thankful for this organization and other lgbt social justice organizations such as GLAAD, PFLAG, and HRC.

What lgbt social justice organization has had a positive impact on you or someone you know?

I love listening to a good podcast! Some of my favorites are This American Life, The Breaking Bad Insider Podcast , Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Stuff You Should Know. When Lost was on TV I used to listen to a podcast called The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack! It has two episodes per week and it made watching that show even more fun.

I love the way music gives us ears to hear. I love the way music can bring back a memory or feeling from long ago. I love the way music can help us process. I love the way music makes our celebrations special and fun. I love the way music is a universal language.

I can’t imagine living in a world without music.

Today I am grateful for music and for all those people out there that are dedicated to making music.

I have a beautiful black cat named Sugar and a playful Pomeranian named Romeo.

They bring me lots of joy everyday!

Sugar is the softest cat I’ve ever touched. She definitely has an attitude! She doesn’t care for “the dog” (which is how I imagine her thinking of Romeo). She really doesn’t like anyone but our family coming into our home. I know this because when anyone else comes inside she hides in the closet or under the bed. Most of our friends and family members either don’t know we have a cat or have forgotten about her because they never see her. BUT, she loves her people and when no one else is around the dog is off taking a nap she’ll sit in the lap of one of us and purr while we pet her.

Everyone knows we have a dog. Romeo has a way of making his presence known. He’s bossy and loves attention. He is always in the middle of whatever we are doing. He’s not the best behaved dog BUT he doesn’t tear anything up and he has never acted mad towards anyone. Everytime we come home he greets us like it has been ages since he last saw us. He loves us, loves us to love him and is a loyal companion and friend. He makes me laugh pretty much everyday.